


Listen Here, Doll

by kayliaamil



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:37:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22088554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayliaamil/pseuds/kayliaamil
Summary: say hello to me on tumblr @val-kay-rie :)
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 147





	Listen Here, Doll

“And they live!” Tony announced as you and Wanda walked through the main living space in the new Avengers complex.

The two of you had recently been sent on an undercover mission to recover some information that would be vital for a future mission. You had supposed word had quickly spread about how off-road the mission had gone, as Wanda had been called out as the “newest Avenger” by a bystander. Your cover was instantly blown, and you had to use other measures to remove yourselves from that situation.

“Just barely,” you said, plopping down on the couch beside the billionaire. Needless to say, the mission had left you and Wanda beyond exhausted.

Rather than taking a seat with you and Tony, Wanda took steps towards the hallway that led to everyone’s personal rooms. She told you, “I think I’m going to take a well-deserved five-hour nap.

"That honestly sounds amazing,” you commented, about ready to do the same.

“Before you ladies go, someone should probably inform you on all that you’ve missed,” Tony said, stopping you and Wanda in your tracks, “Someone being me.”

“What could we have possibly missed in the past three days?” You asked.

“Well, for one, I developed a suit for Pepper to wear, should she need it. FRIDAY sort of became her personal AI, so JOCASTA is running everything now, say hello,” Tony informed you and Wanda.

“Wanda Maximoff, Y/N L/N, hello,” a, still female, automated voice announced.

You nodded your head and said, “Alright then, noted, anything else?”

“Vision has been missing you an abnormal amount,” Tony told Wanda, causing her cheeks to slowly turn the same hue as the glow of her powers, “But what else is new?”

“Didn’t we say enough with the teasing?” Wanda asked, earning a smirk out of Tony and a small laugh out of you.

“It’s just too easy,” Tony said before remembering to add, “Oh, and Steve’s old friend from the forties has taken residence here.”

You searched through your mind for the name Steve had mentioned so many times, “Sergeant Barnes?”

“That’s the one,_ doll,” _Tony said, throwing in the pet name to tease you on something that only he knew about.

Scribbled across your forearm were the words, _“Listen here doll, just because I’m an old man doesn’t mean I can’t hold my own in a fight,”_ the first words your so-called soulmate would say directly to you whenever you meet. Naturally, when you saw the word doll written there, all hopes of you actually meeting said soulmate diminished as that term had died centuries ago.

When you first met Steve, your faith was restored just a bit, but even that soon disappeared. If a man who was actually from the forties didn’t use the term of endearment, what were the odds of you meeting someone today that did? Your loss of hope caused your first interaction with Steve to come off somewhat distant and cold, so you quickly played it off and reassured him that you were just feeling a bit out of it when you were introduced. To this day, he remains one of your closest friends.

Tony found out a couple of weeks after the whole Steve ordeal. Apparently, Tony wasn’t falling for your little lie and was determined to figure out what was really wrong as he wanted to know everything he possibly could, especially if it was pertaining to the well-being of his teammates. It wasn’t until Tony woke you up early one morning for an important meeting did he catch a peek at the words on your arm did he begin to connect the dots and understand everything better.

Since that day, you had made sure that that particular spot on your arm was always covered in some sort of way. Whether it be through an article of clothing or heavy-set concealer, you made certain that no one else could read those special words. It proved to be rather difficult as your soulmate statement was rather lengthy compared to most others, but you found a way.

Just because you kept it covered up, didn’t mean you didn’t think about it constantly. So many unanswered questions constantly plagued your mind because of one simple sentence. Did this mean you and your soulmate would have a significant age gap between you? Or would you be old and gray by the time you actually met them? Under what circumstances would you meet them that warranted that statement? On a mission? In the middle of a fight? It was driving you crazy.

“Thanks for the recap on Keeping Up with the Avengers, but I am in dire need of that nap,” you told Tony, standing up from your seat.

Tony raised his eyebrows at you as you brushed off the topic, “I’ll wake you up in the usual hour.”

“Don’t bother,” you told him, “I’m sleeping as much as possible.”

Wanda chuckled at your words and said, “Agreed.”

The two of you took off to your respective rooms to get some much overdue rest. You decided to take a quick wash in the shower first, then instantly fell asleep the moment your head hit the pillow you had dearly missed.

You awoke three hours later, at around four o'clock, and realized you were starving. Knowing that you wouldn’t last until dinner would be ready a few hours later, you decided to head to the kitchen in order to fetch yourself a snack to hold you over until you feasted on whatever the chefs cooked up that night. It was tradition for Tony to ask the culinary crew to prepare a phenomenal meal after anyone returned from a mission, something you were certainly grateful for.

After searching through the cupboards, you decided on pouring yourself a glass of milk and snacking on some Oreo’s before dinnertime. You sat on a stool in the kitchen and scrolled through your favorite method of social media to pass the time as you ate.

No more than ten minutes later, Steve entered the room with another man beside him. Steve greeted, “Hey Y/N, welcome back.”

“Hey Cap,” you said in return as your eyes curiously looked over the man who had entered with him. With his long brown hair and matching stubble paired up with his piercing blue eyes, it was no secret that this man was fairly attractive. After observing the metal prosthetic where his left arm should be, you pieced together that this was Steve’s old friend from the forties.

“Y/N, this is Bucky, an old friend of mine. Buck, this is Y/N, a new friend of mine,” Steve introduced the two of you, confirming what you had assumed with a slight play of words.

“Ah,” you started, deciding to tease the new resident, “so you’re the other ancient artifact I keep hearing about?”

Bucky cracked a slight smile and decided then and there you two would end up getting along just fine, despite what he had previously feared. He retorted, “Listen here doll, just because I’m an old man doesn’t mean I can’t hold my own in a fight.”

You instantly froze.

Naturally your eyes automatically went to look at Bucky’s left arm, where metal had replaced skin and bone. You began to internally panic at the lack of words on his arm, causing both Bucky and Steve to grow worried.

Steve was worried for your overall well-being as he could see your demeanor visibly change after your interaction with Bucky. You went from being joyous and playful to somewhat cold and distant, almost reminding him of how you were when you he had first met you. He knew, though, that there was no way you were feeling off today as you were just fine a few minutes prior.

Bucky was worried about the views you had made about him. He had voiced his concern on several occasions to Steve about how he was nervous that the group wouldn’t like him or would hold certain opinions on him because of the things in the past that he’s done. The glance you had made towards his metal arm after he spoke to you did not go unnoticed by him, so he began to assume the worse. Maybe the two of you wouldn’t quite get along after all, he thought as he shut his mouth and cast his eyes down towards the ground.

Steve asked, “Are you okay?”

You locked eyes with him and could see the growing concern stirring within them. Slowly standing from your seat, you softly said, “I uh... I-I need to go.”

Leaving your milk and cookies on the countertop, you took off without looking back. When you reached your room, you shut the door behind you and leaned against it as you let out a heavy sigh. Bucky Barnes was your soulmate?

Back in the kitchen, Steve was looking in the direction you had left in a state of surprise and confusion as Bucky held a look of sorrow on his face. He wasn’t necessarily as shocked as Steve was, more disappointed in himself for believing he would hit it off with everyone. The old sergeant said to his friend, “Look Steve, I told you not everyone would warm up to me like you expected them to.”

“But this doesn’t make sense,” Steve told Bucky, turning to face him, “If anything Y/N should have warmed up to you the most.”

Despite your rocky first encounter, you and Steve were amazing friends, so he knew that you tended to see only the best in people. Rather than questioning him about the past, you made sure he adjusted to the 21st century in any way you could. The soldier knew that you would give Bucky the same treatment, so the fact that you took off like that blew his mind.

“Yeah, in your head, maybe it doesn’t make any sense, but this is exactly what I expected,” Bucky admitted. He was being completely honest, he had expected this reaction from everyone, but how come when it came from you it affected him so deeply?

“No, Buck, I’m telling you this isn’t like Y/N. Something is wrong,” Steve sternly said, leaving the room to go find you and find out what was the matter, resulting in Bucky being left with just his thoughts and Oreo cookies.

You had slid down the interior of your door and were sat on the ground with your head in your hands as your mind raced when there were hard knocks on your door. The noises were followed by Steve’s voice, “Y/N, open up.”

“What do you want Steve?” You shouted back, though you knew good and well what he wanted to discuss. The topic of conversation wasn’t something you really wanted to speak about at the moment, so you were determined to keep that door shut for as long as you possibly could.

“What the hell is up with you?” He asked through the door. Steve knew that letting his anger slip through wasn’t the correct way to reach out to you, so he took a deep breath and proceeded to softly speak to you, “Y/N come on, please open up. I just wanna talk.”

Exhaling deeply, you decided to cave and just open the door as Steve wouldn’t leave without any answers. You got off the ground and opened the door to be met with Steve’s concerning face. He asked, “You alright?”

“You’ve been best friends with Bucky since forever, right?” you hesitantly asked. You figured it would be better if you asked the first question and led the conversation rather than just standing there as Steve interrogated you.

Steve was unsure as to why you asked that, but nevertheless responded, “Yeah, why?”

“Do you remember anything, anything about his soulmate’s first words?”

The soldier noted the desperation in your voice and only grew more worried and confused. He said, “I don’t understa–”

“Please,” you cut him off, “Just answer the question.”

“I, uh, I don’t really remember,” Steve told you.

You pressed on, “Nothing at all? You don’t remember a single thing?”

“Y/N, what’s going on?” Steve questioned you.

After a bit of internal conflict, you grabbed Steve by his wrist and dragged him inside your room, shutting the door behind him. You turned to face him and, under different circumstances, probably would’ve laughed at how much he resembled a lost puppy at the current moment. You tried once more, “Please Steve, anything?”

He let out a sigh as he tried to recall the memory from decades ago. It took a few moments before he spoke again, “I don’t know, we figured his soulmate would be a bit sarcastic? Either that or there would be some huge age gap, his words were making fun of his age, if I remember right.”

“Holy shit,” you whispered more to yourself than anything as it hit you, Bucky really was your soulmate.

Steve continually observed your reactions as he asked, “What’s with the sudden questions about Buck’s love life?”

“Bucky’s first words to me,” you began to explain to him as you recited, _“Listen here doll, just because I’m an old man–”_

_“–doesn’t mean I can’t hold my own in a fight,”_ Steve finished, “I heard them.”

You took the deepest of breaths before you began rolling up the long sleeve on the sweater you currently had on. You carefully watched his expressions change from one of confusion, to deeper confusion, and finally to realization. Steve read over your words multiple times, constantly glancing up at you and back down to your forearm in complete awe. He needed to clarify, “You’re Bucky’s soulmate?”

“It seems that way, yeah,” you responded.

A smile stretched across his face at the news and he honestly said, “Y/N, that.. that’s amazing.”

“You think so?” you questioned the soldier, rolling your left sleeve back down.

_“Yes,”_ he told you, elated at the fact. His two best friends were destined to be with one another, how could he not find joy in that? Especially when he knew that the two of you would treat each other right. Steve said, “You have to tell him, he’s probably worried sick.”

It was your turn to grow confused, as you weren’t quite sure what Steve was referring to. You asked him, “Worried? Why would he be worried?”

“Y/N, you know of his past. He was already worried about meeting the team,” Steve informed you, making you feel slightly guilty that you just took off the way you did, “Then he noticed you glance at his arm before you suddenly left the room, which made him assume the worse.”

The feeling of slight guilt automatically intensified at his words and you felt terrible at the way you reacted to meeting your soulmate. You knew for certain you had to clear things up with him, you didn’t want him thinking you hated him when that was far from the truth. “Oh god, what was I thinking..”

Steve smiled at you sympathetically, then tried to ease your thoughts, “That’s the thing, Y/N, you weren’t thinking. You were in shock, and reacted without mulling things over. It’s completely understandable.”

“Yeah, I sure hope he sees it the same way,” you admitted.

“I know Bucky, and I know that he will,” Steve comforted you, “but I wouldn’t keep him waiting.”

“What do I even say to him?” you thought out loud.

Steve let out a slight chuckle and reassured you, “I know you’ll think of something. His room is right across the hall from mine.”

“I thought that was Vision’s room?” you recalled. 

“It’s to my understanding that him and Wanda are sharing a room now,” Steve informed you.

You dramatically gasped at the news and rhetorically asked, “And she didn’t tell me?”

“I guess not,” his words were accompanied with a laugh, “Now, go.”

You left your room, knowing that Steve would close the door behind him, and took off to Bucky’s room. As your feet moved along the carpet, you attempted to get your thoughts together and figure out exactly what you were going to say to him.

Sooner than you had hoped, you found yourself outside of Bucky’s door with your thoughts still completely scattered. You inhaled a deep breath and after you exhaled, you knocked on the door.

A few short moments later, Bucky answered the door, and you could tell he was beyond surprised to see you standing on the other side. He greeted, “Uh, hi.”

“Hey,” you said with a small smile, trying to keep your heart from beating out of your chest, “Can I come in?”

The surprise in his eyes only grew at your question, but he still replied, “Yeah, sure.”

He stepped aside and allowed you in, making sure to close the door once you had entered. You were looking around his room, observing the undecorated walls and nearly empty open closet as Bucky asked you, “So why’d you stop by?”

You turned to face him, almost getting lost in his beautiful blue eyes as you told him, “I’m sorry.. I shouldn’t have walked out like that.”

“It’s okay,” he told you with an almost unnoticeable grin.

“No, but I really shouldn’t have freaked out like that,” you said to him, then ended up speaking a mile a minute, “and I already talked to Steve about it and I don’t want you thinking I don’t like you or anything cause I’m sure you’re a really great guy, but I just panicked and–”

“Why’d you panic then?” he asked you, thankfully ending your rambling. 

You swore your heart skipped a beat at his question that you had dreaded since entering his room. With a deep breath, you collected your thoughts and calmly asked, “Do you remember the first words you said to me?”

“Yeah, I told you I could still hold my own in a fight after you joked about my age,” he remembered, a genuine smile growing on his face.

You smiled back and clarified, “Yeah, but your exact words?”

“Uh..” Bucky trailed off in thought before recalling, _“Listen here doll..”_

As he began to say those words once again, you began to roll up the sleeve on your left arm to show him what was written across your forearm. He carefully grabbed hold of your arm, then continued to partially read and partially recite with wide eyes, _“..just because I’m an old man doesn’t mean I can’t hold my own in a fight.”_

Bucky’s eyes traveled from your arm up to your deep e/c eyes, a huge smile plastered across his face. You couldn’t fight the smile that was growing present on your face as you softly said, “Hi.”

“After all this time,” he said in disbelief, shaking his head before admitting, “I thought you didn’t exist.”

You scoffed and said, “You’re telling me! Nobody calls each other doll anymore.”

Bucky let go of your arm and laughed, throwing an arm around your shoulder instead as he spoke, “Yet here we are.”

“Here we are indeed,” you said, beaming up at your newly found soulmate. You asked him, “Sit beside me at dinner?”

“Well I thought you’d never ask, _doll.”_

**Author's Note:**

> say hello to me on tumblr @val-kay-rie :)


End file.
